What is end-to-end testing?
In this edition of the “Meet our Testers” blog posts, we will introduce two testers who recently participated in an end-to-end test for a railway company. End-to-end tests are only a small part of our extended service portfolio that we launched earlier this year. This test type covers the interaction of an online service with its’ functionality in the real world. In simple terms: if you order your favorite pizza online, an end-to-end test will ensure that it gets delivered.
Testbirds’ three categories of Crowdtesting
Our new services are divided into three categories: Quality Assurance, Usability & UX, and Testbirds Exclusives. All of the services add up to 21 different test types, which is especially exciting for testers who will have the chance to participate in an even wider variety of tests.
Interview with two testers
Welcome Dominik and Doris! To start things out, please tell us a little about you.Dominik: My name is Dominik and I’m 19 years old. I live near Frankfurt and study Psychology in IT. This interdisciplinary degree combines psychology with computer science. One of my motivations for picking this subject was my positive experience as an online tester. Shortly after I turned 18, I did my first test run and for about one year now, I’m testing for Testbirds. I like participating in tests because it gives me the opportunity to give feedback on different websites or apps, and to be part of the improvement of their user experience. Also it is interesting to get to see new and different kinds of web products. Doris: My name is Doris, I am 30 years old and live in Germany. I am currently doing an online course to get a degree in Business Administration at Kiel University of Applied Sciences. Besides that and testing once in a while, I am in the process of creating an online travel magazine, since travelling is one of my greatest passions.What is one device you wish Testbirds had tested before you bought it?Dominik: It would have been nice to test my smartwatch before buying it. I like the idea to have all the information on my watch, but the usability is not that great at the moment. It doesn’t feel like a normal watch for me and I don’t want to wear it every day. If I had tested it before, I would rethink my purchase and wait for the next generation to be released.Tell us about the end-to-end test you participated in. Did you enjoy it and would you do it again?Doris: During the test for a German railway company I had to go to the railway station in my city and compare the actual order of a specific train’s first and second class wagons at the platform with the order that was shown on the digital display board for that train. On the test day I checked several trains that way. After returning from the railway station, I filled out a report showing what I noticed at the train station and uploaded some photos which I took. This test was especially interesting, since it was a little different than the tests I had taken part in before as the improvement of a whole process was involved. Moreover, it was fun to meet other testers at the railway station where this test took place.Dominik: I had field tests before and I got a great briefing, so I wasn’t nervous. On each train station there were two testers at the same layer, so you had the chance to meet other testers from Testbirds and I even had time to have a conversation with one. I would definitely do it again, because I like to test something in the field. However, the wake up time was a little bit early for me.Is there any question you would like to ask us here at Testbirds?Dominik asked: Are there any plans to rework the ranking system? For a new tester it’s sometimes a little frustrating how unreachable the Top Ten Tester list looks. Maybe consider having a second ranking in which recent activity has a greater impact on the score. Also, it would be nice to see some country specific rankings.Sören, our Community Manager answered: Thanks for your feedback, Dominik! We are currently not planning to revise the ranking system. However, we are of course aware of the fact that this might be frustrating for new testers. The Experience Points should always reflect the tester’s expertise for completing test reports. We are always looking for ways to improve the qualification of our testers, which is why we have created courses in our Bird School about different test-related topics. In the Bird School you can earn some Experience Points while improving your testing knowledge. This is a good way to earn more points and improve your testing skills.Doris asked: Will there be more end-to-end tests similar to the one mentioned above in the future?Markus, our Chief of Operations, has some insight on this question: Hi Doris, thanks for asking! We have several exciting end-to-end tests planned this year. Although I can’t tell you exactly what they’re about, I can tell you that we will be testing a variety of devices, for example household devices, and will need testers from all over the world to participate in these tests. With the ever increasing popularity of the Internet of Things, it’s essential that these devices are tested under real-word conditions to ensure that they are well received by the end users – so people like you and me. We are just as excited as you are to see what new products come our way, so stay tuned for upcoming test invitations! Many thanks to Dominik and Doris for sharing their testing experience with us!
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About the author
At night – at least in the summertime – one can see Felix cruising around Munich on his old Vespa, by day he jumps into everything related to Marketing and PR at Testbirds.
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Testbirds specialises in the testing of software such as apps, websites and Internet of Things applications by using innovative technologies and solutions. Under the slogan, “Testing Reality”, the company offers various testing methods to its clients looking to optimise the user-friendliness and functionality of their digital products. With over 250,000 registered testers located in 193 countries, Testbirds is one of the world’s leading crowdtesting providers. In addition, the IT service provider utilises cloud based technologies to support customers in the optimisation of their digital products. The combination of the two testing methods delivers a unique and extensive portfolio that takes the quality of software to the next level. Testbirds was founded in 2011 by Philipp Benkler, Georg Hansbauer and Markus Steinhauser. Today, the company has over 100 employees. Other than its headquarters in Munich, there are now offices in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm, franchises in Hungary and Russia and sales partners in Italy.
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